Added incentives
Amazon must be feeling the tablet heat from Apple as much as anyone else. Yes, e-readers are a different technology, usage model and price, but how many people will buy both a tablet and an e-reader?
With this in mind Amazon continues to innovate with the pricing of its Kindle e-reader, the latest bright idea being to part-subsidize a new version with advertising. Of course this is being euphemised to ‘special offers' and ‘sponsored screensavers'.
"We're working hard to make sure that anyone who wants a Kindle can afford one," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. "Kindle with Special Offers is the same #1 bestselling Kindle - and it's only $114. Kindle is the best deal in consumer electronics anywhere in the world."
That $114 amounts to $25 off the Wi-Fi Kindle, with there being no such alternative for the 3G version. Our first thought was that this is a novel way of enticing the more cash-strapped consumer into the e-book world, but that $25 seems too small a lure. TechCrunch agrees, and opines that $99 is the killer price-point.
There's no doubt that moving the price of the Kindle into single-figures would make it an easier impulse-purchase, but that's something Amazon may feel ambivalent about. The advertising platform is untested, and Amazon will feel nervous about taking too much business away from its full-priced models.
The advertising seems to be based around the screensaver, with companies presenting their special offers on that platform. This means you won't get intrusive ads while you're reading, something that should have been emphasised more in the press release. Apparently there's even an app through which you can vote for your favourite screensaver.
The new Kindle will launch in the US on 3 May, and Amazon has yet to release any international guidance.
